Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Taktsang Lhakhang, also known as the “Tiger’s Nest”.
Bhutan • 11 days, 10 nights
Festivals & Temples of Bhutan
from
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Mosaic in Beachfront Park.
Tsunami Walking Tour
Madam Yoko’s gravesite.
Madam Yoko’s Grave
Garden path.
Garden of the Presidential Mansion
Anabaptist Cages
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Aerial view of Bell Labs Holmdel
How the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex Inspired ‘Severance’
2 days ago
Omni Parker House Hotel
The Omni Parker House: Inside the History of Boston’s Most Iconic Hotel
3 days ago
The cute capybara.
Animal Takeover: Brace Yourself for Adorable Hordes
4 days ago
The Codex Gigas (the Devil’s Bible) open to the portrait of the devil.
Codex Gigas: Who Drew the Devil in This Massive Medieval Bible?
5 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Portugal The Sobreiro Monumental (Monumental Cork Oak)
AO Edited

The Sobreiro Monumental (Monumental Cork Oak)

For more than two centuries, the canopy of this venerable tree has been a haven for songbirds and lovers.

Portugal

Added By
Sydney Rose
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The Sobreiro Monumental (Monumental Cork Oak)   UNAC - Union of the Mediterranean Forest / União da Floresta Mediterrânica, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Sobreiro Monumental (Monumental Cork Oak)   UNAC - Union of the Mediterranean Forest / União da Floresta Mediterrânica, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Sobreiro Monumental (Monumental Cork Oak)   Vanbasten 23, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Sobreiro Monumental (Monumental Cork Oak)   Union of the Mediterranean Forest [Portugal] Creator: UNAC - União da Floresta Mediterrânica, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
  Nssflm / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In the small village of Águas de Moura, in Portugal's Alentejo region, stands the world's largest Cork oak tree (Quercus suber). Well over 230-years-old, the tree was planted in 1783, the same year that the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the American Revolutionary War. Sobreiro Monumental is also affectionately known as "The Whistler Tree [Sobreiro Assobiador]," attributed to the sounds made by dozens of songbirds when they land and shelter among its branches.

The magnificent tree is over 53-feet tall and has a trunk diameter of over 14-feet. Its classification as a "Tree of Public Interest" occurred in 1988. In 2009, the Guinness Book of World Records declared it the "largest and most productive Cork oak in the world." In 2018, Sobreiro Monumental was voted "European Tree of the Year." 

The spongy, cork-yielding bark of these trees has been used for over 5,000 years. Portugal is credited with about half of the world’s current cork production. A Cork oak's bark is harvested approximately once every ten years, with the first harvest not occurring until the tree is 25-years-old. Sobreiro Monumental's bark has been collected over 20 times. Its most prolific crop occurred in 1991 when the tree produced 2,646 pounds of raw cork. Equal to the weight of two elephants, it was enough cork to stopper over 100,000 wine bottles and exceeded the entire lifetime production of most other Cork oaks.

Over the decades, Sobreiro Monumental provided shelter for nomads and migrants, along with privacy for lovers' trysts. Locals call the tree "Casamenteira" or "Matchmaker" because of its popularity as a courting and marriage proposal spot. Speculation is that more than a few villagers were conceived under its protective branches. Most significant, however, might be the hundreds of thousands of liters of wine that its bark has protected over the decades.

The tree was nearly lost in 2000 when developers began clearing land without authorization. Unfortunately, 411 of Sobreiro Monumental's neighboring trees were destroyed before the illegal deforestation activity was discovered and stopped. This Cork oak earned even stricter protection status in 2001, and it was declared a national symbol by the Portuguese Parliament in 2011. The village now maintains a parklike setting around their celebrity tree.

Related Tags

Trees History & Culture Wine Nature Plants
Atlas Obscura Adventures

Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon

Explore Portugal through food, from the cities to the seaside.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Sydney Rose

Edited By

MotoMars, Nssflm

  • MotoMars
  • Nssflm

Published

March 25, 2021

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
The Sobreiro Monumental (Monumental Cork Oak)
7 R. Alberto Valente
2965-557
Portugal
38.586678, -8.690993

Nearby Places

Museum of Mechanical Music

Pinhal Novo, Portugal

miles away

Chapel of Espírito Santo dos Mareantes

Sesimbra, Portugal

miles away

'The Wedding of the Hen'

Lisbon, Portugal

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Portugal

Portugal

Europe

Places 166
Stories 11

Nearby Places

Museum of Mechanical Music

Pinhal Novo, Portugal

miles away

Chapel of Espírito Santo dos Mareantes

Sesimbra, Portugal

miles away

'The Wedding of the Hen'

Lisbon, Portugal

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Portugal

Portugal

Europe

Places 166
Stories 11

Related Stories and Lists

11 Sites for Clandestine Romance

List

By Diana Hubbell

These 23 Trees Have Seen Some Things

List

By Gemma Tarlach

Related Places

  • Nikkō Suginamiki, or the Cedar Avenue.

    Nikko, Japan

    Cedar Avenue of Nikkō

    Stretching for 22 miles, the world's longest tree-lined avenue dates back to the early 17th-century.

  • A large burrow at the base of the tree.

    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

    John Goodway Sycamore Tree

    This massive sycamore tree has been labeled as one of the largest in the state.

  • Newton’s Apple Tree

    Lund, Sweden

    Newton's Apple Tree

    A living descendant of the famous tree that helped Isaac Newton develop the theory of gravity.

  • Wormsloe Historic Site tree canopy.

    Savannah, Georgia

    Wormsloe State Historic Site

    The tabby ruin is Savannah’s oldest surviving structure.

    Sponsored by Visit Savannah
  • Panshanger Great Oak

    Hertford, England

    Panshanger Great Oak

    Believed to be the largest single-stemmed oak tree in England.

  • Wye Oak State Park

    Wye Mills, Maryland

    Wye Oak State Park

    The last remains of one of the oldest and largest oak trees in the United States calls this state park home.

  • Cape Flattery

    Neah Bay, Washington

    Cape Flattery

    At the most northwestern point of the contiguous United States lies a trail leading through an ancient forest to stunning cliff-side vistas and massive oceanside caves.

  • .The discovery Tree Stump

    Big Trees, California

    The Discovery Tree

    California's longest-running tourist attraction is a stump.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.